 Have you given up things for poetry? Do you feel the time you spend reading, writing, or thinking about poetry diminishes other areas of your life? Do you have fomo because you're a poet? Poets, particularly serious poets, spend a lot of time on poetry and might even seem overly obsessed. I've had at least one close friend express their pity to me over what I've "sacrificed" for my art. Since May 3rd, I have setting my (internal) alarm for 4 a.m. each morning, getting up, and writing poems. I'm also typing and editing poems and submitting them to journals. My goal is to reach at least one day where I give my full 100% effort to poetry. As of today, I have no regrets about the time I've spent on poetry -- now or ever. In fact, I stopped writing for about 8 years when my kids were young. I wrote a bit here and there but most of it was mediocre because my attention was happily focused elsewhere. And I don't regret the time I spent away from writing poetry and more than I regret the time I'm devoting to it now. The only sacrifice that could have taken place is if I had not started writing seriously again and used being a parent as an excuse to just hobby it on down the road or quit altogether. I'm not built to be a Sunday painter, although I have solid respect for those who are, so... for me passion precludes "sacrifice." Poetry exists outside of the stream of linear time. You can pull out of your focus and go back months later, picking up where you left off or even improving without having tried. What you can't do is ignore that internal voice that lets you know when it's time to give 100% to your art. If you follow that voice, you'll never have to sacrifice anything for poetry to reap creative rewards. Tally Poems Written: 298 Submissions: 48 Rejections: 17 (10 tiered) Acceptances: 0 Poem written today: "Storm Breeze" Categories All
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